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Where Did The Line 'It Insists Upon Itself' Really Come From? Seth MacFarlane's Explanation For Peter Griffin's Iconic 'Family Guy' Quote And Meme Explained
Peter Griffin's damning critique of The Godfather trilogy has since spun off into its own branch of media theory over the past decade.
"I did not care for The Godfather," Griffin said as he and his family were set to drown during a 2006 episode of Family Guy, "It insists upon itself, Lois."
Years worth of memes inspired by Peter's drowning confession came to a head this past week when the creator of Family Guy, Seth MacFarlane, came forward with his take on what the cryptic quote actually means.
Here's a recap of how "I Did Not Care For It" and "It Insists Upon Itself" became the go-to lines used by ironic media critics and memers alike.
Where Did The Lines 'I Did Not Care For X' and 'It Insists Upon Itself' Come From?
The Family Guy episode "Untitled Griffin Family History" aired on May 14th, 2006, and followed the Griffin family as they tackled a panic room puzzle. At one point, the sprinklers go off and the water in the room starts to rise rapidly, leading Peter to make one last confession:
But since we're all gonna die, there's one more secret I feel I have to share with you. I did not care for The Godfather. […] It insists upon itself, Lois.
How Did 'It Insists Upon Itself' Become A Viral Catchphrase?
Like many Family Guy quotes, Peter Griffin's drowning confession became a prevalent catchphrase online, with the use of the line, "It insists upon itself," as a memetic catchphrase being traced back to 4chan discussion boards as early as 2010.
By the mid to late 2010s, more memes featuring the line began to make the rounds online in exploitable image macros, as seen in a December 2017 post criticizing newer Star Wars movies and an Imgflip creation from 2018.
By 2025, people were calling the line a "succinct" and "universally applicable critique" that can be welded at will, despite there being no real consensus about what the phrase even meant.
So What Did Seth MacFarlane Say About The 'Insists Upon Itself' Line?
On January 21st, 2025, Seth MacFarlane posted a tweet that revealed how he came up with the line, "Since this has been trending, here’s a fun fact: ‘It insists upon itself’ was a criticism my college film history professor used to explain why he didn’t think ‘The Sound of Music’ was a great film. First-rate teacher, but I never quite followed that one."
Since this has been trending, here’s a fun fact: “It insists upon itself” was a criticism my college film history professor used to explain why he didn’t think “The Sound of Music” was a great film. First-rate teacher, but I never quite followed that one. pic.twitter.com/v7Yo4eHa93
— Seth MacFarlane (@SethMacFarlane) January 21, 2025
For the full history of It Insists Upon Itself and Peter Griffin's Drowning Confession, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry here and here for more information.
